Welcome to the Downworld
by Annie Gray
Summary: Alice Fairfox and her sister Violet Fairfox live in the Paris Institute for Shadowhunters. Elizabeth Ravenkey is a Shadowhunter with a unique curse. Natalie Davidson is an unlucky Mundane with a nasty family. These are four girls with very different lives who come together when their worlds fall apart. This is their story.
1. Alice Fairfox

I am Alice Fairfox. I live with my parents who run the Paris institute and my little sister Violet who is 15. We live there with the Verlac's and the Penrose's. The Verlac's have a son named Sebastian, whom I cant stand, and the Penrose's have a daughter named Lily. Lilly is the same age as Violet and they are best friends, they became parabatai last year. Sebastian and I are the same age, both of us are 17. We compete with most things and I rarely lose. He is good at tracking, hand to hand combat, agility, sword weilding, strength, and stamina, as most Verlac's are, but I am very agile and graceful. I have nearly perfected the arts of evasive techniques, agility, grace, manipulation, intelligence, cunning, and wit. He fights with his muscles. I fight with my heart and my brain. Here are some facts about my family:  
We were a wealthy family, founded at the turn of the 14th century. Noted for our agility and grace, we were practiced in the skill of evasion. A highly clever streak runs through the family, the talent for a skilled tongue and sharp wit is inherited. So skilled in manipulation it is rumoured that the founder Lucien Fairfox made his fortune by cheating it from wealthy lords. Lucien Fairfox took up the name as he was inspired by the cunning animal, he admired them to the point he banned any fox hunting on his grounds, claiming them sacred animals. The story goes he was riding through his vast property when he stumbled across a golden fox that unlike other foxes did not run in fear, but stood fair and brave in front of the man before slinking into the woods. Many times had he ordered searches for this elusive beast, but no sight of it was seen again. We carry the tradition of adept skill in hidden daggers. Another tradition is the strong prevalence of red hair passed down the bloodline, and the golden eyes of the Lucien's elusive fox. Our family crest is a golden fox (As shown in the picture) and our motto is "Do not take a foxes truth." Most of us prefer to fight with concealed daggers, but I like my double bladed seraph blade. It was originally a normal, single bladed seraph blade, but I went to one of my warlock friends, Ragnor Fell, and he worked his magic to make a button on the hilt activate a second blade. Without pressing the button the seraph blade looks normal, but once the button has been pressed a second blade appears on the other end of the hilt. I press the button again and it disappears entirely, you can feel it or see it. It's as if the second blade no longer exists. It works kind of like a Lightsaber from that mundane movie Star Wars, except only one of the blades randomly appears and disappears with the touch of a button. Like the other members of my family, I have red hair and a sharp face. My eyes are a bit different though. They are more of a bronze or a brownish-red color than golden. I should probably go train before Sebastian comes back. I want to get some good knife throwing in before he tries to show me up.


	2. Violet Fairfox

Hi, I'm Violet. My hair is violet like my name but it is naturally red like most Fairfoxs. I'm 15 and I live in the Paris Institute with my family. As you saw with my sister the Fairfoxs have many qualities. I got the brawns you can say where as my sister is more cunning, not saying she is not strong and I am not cunning. My weapon of choice is a long sword which is taller than me, but I'm not that tall, and concealed daggers. My parabatai is Lily Penrose a great healer. I'm very close to my sister and I have not spent more than a week without her. Only being 15 means I don't get to do a lot just training. I don't like it when people underestimate me, I am stronger than most think. When I'm not training I'm very much of a nerd and most likely watching a mundane movie, I find the mundane world very interesting and not as uptight like our world. But I cant really complain I have a pretty great life in the Institute, unlike my sister who has a very ignorant training partner. I don't really have much more to talk about plus I hear something going on downstairs. I wonder what they are up to now!


	3. Elizabeth Ravenkey

My name is Elizabeth Ravenkey. My story is more complex than that of most shadowhunters. Originally I was born in the year 1862. I was a shadowhunter in the London institute until I was cursed. My mortal life ended that faithful day. The ravenkey family to most was a normal shadowhunter family. However the deeper you look into the past the more you understand. My family originated in the 12th century in Wales and we were a very wealthy family. Rumors began to surface though that we had obtained our wealth in corrupt ways. All Ravenkey descendants have a heightened sense of clairvoyance. Although mine is higher than most and it has saved me from making regrettable decisions in the past. The weapons that I normally use would be my runes as well as a crossbow from time to time. I mostly rely on a dagger system I developed. Since I normally have long sleeves I managed to figure out how to sew two dagger sheaths into the sleeves. Both daggers are on wire system that allows for me to flick my wrist and the dagger is released from its sheath. The wire comes in handy because then I don't have to worry about losing the dagger, another motion of my wrist quickly snaps the dagger back to my hand. The day I was cursed is still something that haunts me to this day. My parents and I managed to get away from the city for the day. We had just opened the basket that contained some of the things for our outing. Unfortunately neither my parents nor I noticed the Eidon demon sneaking up on us until it was to late. The demon tore my parents apart and I attempted to run but the demon had others with him that day. It forced me to watch but that was not the end of it's revenge. The monster cursed me to watch everyone that I loved die and that if I ever dared to care about someone that person would die. Another part of the curse is that I would never age another day. After my parents died the Clave decided to transfer me to Idris and I stayed there until I was eighteen. When I turned eighteen I requested to be posted to an institute far away from Europe and I was posted to the Taipei institute. After roughly three decades I became the institute head. Maryse Lightwood contacted me to serve as another tutor for her children in the New York institute in addition to the one already there. I mainly teach weapons to the Lightwood children. However because of the time period that I was born in and with my curse, I don`t get along with downworlders very well and mundanes either. Back in London I was friends with Tessa, Will, Jem, and I surprisingly got along with Magnus Bane.


	4. Natalie Davidson

Yo children! My name is Natalie Davidson! My nickname is Sharky. You'll find out later. I am best friends with Simon and Clary! Well... I am more like their mother than their best friend. I am super overprotective of them. I refer to them as my son/daughter/children. I always check up on them whenever they go out somewhere and I can't go. Whenever they crossed the street they had to hold my hands... well that stopped when they were 10 and I was 11. Oh I'm getting off topic... kinda. Well... I am a year older than the both of them. I am also kinda loud and Very colorful! My favorite color is teal. I met Simon and Calry one day while at school. There were these 4th graders picking on them (Simon more than Clary) during recess. Those two were in the 2nd grade while I was in the 3rd grade. I saw that and it really pissed me off. I HATE BULLIES! Any way... I got up from then bench I was sitting on and put my shark book down (I LOVE sharks! And that is how the nickname was born) and stomped my way to them. Long story short I beat them up and got suspended (that was another factor to the nickname). I've been taking Karate since I was 4 because my dad is a paranoid drug dealer. I honestly hate the stuff and what it can do to you. I've seen a lot of people attempt to kill my dad for more of the stuff. My mom is a corrupt CEO. How those tow got together I don't know. From that day forward I declared myself their mother. Also, because of my bad family history (I looked it up. One of my ancestors built the first straight jacket and put his son in one. Later on he was forced into one too) I became very familiar with what is going on in the streets. I actually made it my priority. I have to keep Simon and Clary safe. No matter the cost. I've noticed tons of strange things. For example: People with puncture wounds in their necks and have all of their blood drained. If that isn't vampires I don't know what it is. Simon said that all of the fiction and Supernatural shows are going to my head. Clary made fun of me. I then proceeded to yell at them because that is no way to treat your mother. I know it. There is another world lurking in the shadows and I'm not talking about my dad's drug ring I am talking about how vampires, werewolves, faries, magical people, and demons all exist. I am not crazy like everyone else in my family! There is another world I need to figure out to protect my children! ... wait a second SIMON HASN'T CHECKED IN IN OVER 2 HOURS! *bursts out door and into the city* I'M ON MY WAY CHILD! MOMMY WILL PROTECT YOUUUUUUU!


	5. Pandamonium

Natalie's PoV  
I hate waiting in lines. You are just standing there doing nothing then suddenly something you want to forget pops up in your head. Like right now, Clary, Simon and I are outside this club called Pandamonium and all I can think about is the situation that happened last week when my dad brought his work home, again. Simon was looking as uncomfortable as I felt. He keeps on fidgeting. Clary honestly looks kinda pumped. Next thing you know there is this guy with blue hair and all punked out making an issue in the front of the line. He and Clary made some sort of eye contact. I turn her to face me, "No," I simply said.  
"Come on Mother Shark, I'm not going to screw him!"  
"I don't want to be part of this conversation," said Simon visibly paling.  
"Clary, child, my daughter, why can't you learn from your brother?! He is a good boy while with you I don't know what to expect."  
"Thanks Mother Shark. I feel so loved," she said sarcastically. I wacked her over her head with my phone.  
"That is no way to talk to your mother."  
"Ouch!"  
"This is why I don't piss the Mother Shark off."  
"Shut up Simon" Next thing you know my dad's right hand man show up. _Please don't notice me! Please don't notice me! Please don't notice me!_ I silently pray. Clary and Simon noticing my obvious discomfort look around and notice him. They quickly form a barrier blocking me just has he turned his head to look in our direction. He didn't recognize Simon and Clary. Mainly because last he saw them he was so drunk he almost killed me while I was trying to make those two leave. When he finally left Simon and Clary turned back around to face me with looks of disgust on their faces. "If he comes back here I swear I will..." she trailed off while shaking her fist in emphasis.  
"It's OK child. I will be fine. Are you forgetting who I am? I am Sharky! Those guys are nothing. Plus, children aren't supposed to worry. Mothers are."  
"Well we worry any way." Said Simon.  
"Let's just drop it OK. We came here to have fun. Lets do that!" We got in the club and my ears are going to fall off it's so loud. I thought I was used to loud noises by now. This is a new level. You could set a bomb off and no one would notice.  
"What are we supposed to do in here that is fun?" asked Simon  
"You dance." said Clary  
"Jumping around doesn't count as dancing."  
"Shut up Simon and go get your mother and I some drinks"  
"Alright, I will." with that Simon walked off. Well... More like squeezing through the crowd. Clary and I continued "dancing". I was doing an awkward disco and Clary was jumping around. Suddenly she stopped and started to look off into the distance. Curious I looked in the same direction she was. I saw nothing.  
"Natalie, do you see those guys?! They have knives!" I went into over protective mother from the streets mode. I scanned the area to be aware of the exits and possible escape routes they may take. But I still didn't see anyone with knives.  
"Child what are you talking about I don't see anyone."  
"They are right there!" she pointed in the direction she was staring in.  
"I don't see anyone."  
"Just go get the bouncer They are heading for the storage closet. Natalie I know I saw them." When Clary calls me Natalie then something is up. Plus, she has never lied to me before so why doubt her now.  
"Alright. I'll go get Simon too. I need my children to be safe!" With that I took off into the crowd. I then found Simon and we went to find the bouncer. I told him what Clary told me and we headed to the storage closet. We walked in and found Clary talking to someone. I didn't see who.  
"Clary?" asked Simon, "Where are the guys you saw? You know, the ones with knives?" asked Simon. Clary looked behind her and looked back at us.  
"I guess I was imagining it." I doubted that.  
"Child, if there is someone forcing your silence I will personally pound them into the Earth so they will never see the light of day again." She looked at me with wide eyes. She knew that I would do so.  
"Natalie no one is forcing me to do anything. I promise." I looked her in the eyes. Liar.  
"OK then. I you say so. I'll see you two later OK?"  
"Alright. Bye Mother Shark!" said Simon  
"Bye." said Clary. I walked out. There was a window in the closet so I went outside to where the other end was and hid behind the dumpster. I saw it open but no one came out and I saw no one actually open it. That was really strange. Another thing to add to the list of strange thing I have noticed.  
I quietly walked back into the penthouse apartment. It is mainly paid by my mother. I started to walk back into my room then the lights came on. I looked behind me and it was my mother. "Hi mom."  
"Natalie Tiffany Davidson, where were you?"  
"I told you I was studying for my AP exams like you wanted me to."  
"It is 12 AM. I appreciate you sticking with your studies like I want you to but you have to be home before your dad leaves for work. You know what will happen." I shivered. The memory gives me chills.  
"I know mother."  
" Now that your home I want you to recite to me the first chapter on _the Oddesy._ You know the way to rule to world."  
"'You have to seize knowledge and power or else you will never eat or get into this house again'"  
"Good girl, Now recite." I took a deep breath and began to recite the first chapter.


	6. Training

Alice's POV  
I am standing in the middle of the training room in the institute throwing knives at a human shaped target. Demons typically take on a human form to better blend in with everyone so that is what we have as our target. I throw knife after knife, changing my style of throwing and where on the body I am trying to hit. I get a good number of throws in before Sebastian shows up and ruins it, as usual.  
"Train with me." He says in a demanding tone.  
"Why should I? Training with you is boring. I get nothing out of it so whats the point."  
"I need someone to train with and you are the only one."  
"You could always go and train with Violet or Lily."  
"They are children! I am not going to train with children!"  
"Why not? You act and fight like a child. I am not seeing a problem here."  
He looks at me with anger. "Train. With. Me." He says with a new found determination in his voice.  
I sigh, but grab my seraph blade and walk into the sparring area. He looks at me warily.  
"You wanted to train. Let's train." I say as I press the button on the hilt so that the second blade comes out.  
"Okay. One rule though, you can only have one blade. One for me, one for you. "  
"Deal." I press the button again to reduce my weapon to one blade. "First one to hit the other three times wins."  
We get in fighting stances and start slowly circling each other. He lunges out at me and his blade only misses my forearm by a few centimeters. I retaliate and cut a semi deep gash on his fighting shoulder. He yelps and jumps back to put distance between us and then we go back to circling each other. He rushes at me again and this time swings me my knees. I jump over his blade and move forward to get him in the bicep, but he dives out of the way and rolls. The second he stands back up he attacks again and our blades meet with a crash. We pushed against each other with all of our strength, but I know that he is much stronger than I and my strength would soon fail. I step to the side as I move my blade out of the way and he goes tumbling to the floor. I decide that this is a good teachable moment for him. A movement in the corner caught my eye and I see Violet watching us. Good. She can learn from this as well. I stand up a little straighter and look down at him as he scrambles about on the floor.  
"What did you do wrong?" I ask him  
"What!?" He says.  
"What did you do wrong? Why was I able to best you?"  
"You weren't! You just got lucky!"  
"Tsk tsk. Your pride is getting the better of you. It is okay to admit defeat."  
"You did not defeat me! You have to get three! I have only been cut twice!"  
He stands and comes at me again. As we fight I talk to him and tell him pointers.  
"Your form is sloppy... Don't let anger and pride control you... You fight every enemy as if they are one and the same, but they are not. Each enemy is different and you must fight them as such. You study them when you can and as quick as you can and you figure out how you need to fight to defeat them. Don't be predictable. We should be able to predict each others movements by now and therefore neither of us should be able to best the other in combat and yet you continuously fail to study my fighting techniques and habits. It makes it much easier for me to best you in battle which makes you that much more boring to fight." I say and then I swipe at his feet. He jumps and does a back flip. When he lands he is next to a rack of blades so he picks up another one as I swing my sword up, hoping to get a cut on his chest. He uses the blades to stop mine and push it back down. He smiles victoriously at me even though he is far from winning. I spin my blade downwards and hit the button at the same time. As my blade hit his they were both knocked out of his hands. I smile at him.  
"Two for you, two for me." I tell him as he picks his blades back up.  
I wield my blade expertly and manage to get a cut on his hand as he gets one on my chin. I put my blade down and smile at him.  
"I win." I say  
"You cheated." He tries to argue, "I said only one blade."  
"Yes you did. Your exact words were, 'One for me, one for you.' , but then you went and grabbed a second blade. That gave me permission to have two as well.  
"Whatever."  
"Do you know why you lost?"  
"Why?" He says sarcastically and even though I can tell he doesn't care I tell him.  
"I have had years to study you. How you fight, how you stand, walk, eat, sleep, everything. You have had the same amount of time to study me as well but you have chosen to ignore that advantage and instead you fight me as if I were any other opponent. I can defeat you easily because I know almost everything about you whereas you don't think that it is worth your time to learn anything about me."  
"It isn't worth my time."  
"Yes it is. You are stupid, arrogant, and an awful shadowhunter because you choose to ignore the intelligence that is needed to do our job."  
He looks at me with pure rage shown all over his face. I have pissed him off. He stomps up to me and tries to hit me but I grab his arms as they come at me and then us them to spin him around so that his back is facing me and his arms are behind him. I kick the back of his knees and he falls to the floor.  
"I wont train with you until you learn this. Training with you is boring and not beneficial at all." I let go of his arms and push him down to the ground in front of me. "Come and see me when you have actually learned something and will make a worthy opponent for me."  
He looks frustrated and humiliated as he hears the girls, Lily and Violet, giggling in the corner. He stands up and walks towards the rack of spears and throws himself against the wall right next to it. After hitting the wall he falls to the floor with a loud thud as the spears that he had hit with his foot fall all over him. I hear footsteps running down the stairs, a normal reaction to hearing that loud of a thud. I quickly realize why he had done that and run over to him to make it look like I am trying to help him up. He swats my arm away as I try to get him up and then he smiles victoriously at me. I hear the door swing open as Sebastian lets out a loud groan. I turn around to see his parents standing in the doorway along with mine. His mother runs to his side to make sure that her precious little child isn't hurt (that was sarcasm if you couldnt tell). I look at his father who glares at me as if I am the devil himself and then pushes past me to get to him as well. When I look at my parents my father gives a sorry look to tell me that he doesn't think I did anything wrong, whereas my mother glares at me almost as hateful as his father did except hers had shame in it as well. She was ashamed of me. Ashamed that I would do something so stupid and childish as to push him into a rack of spears. I turn away from that look and find Sebastian telling his parents what happened.  
"We were training and when I beat her she got all upset and threw me against the wall. I hit the rack on my way down and all the spears fell on me."  
"What! That's not true I was trying to give him tips on his fighting style and technique to help him get better, but after I beat him he did this to himself to make me look bad!"  
"Its true! We saw it ourselves!" Violet says, standing up for me. I give her a thankful smile and turn back towards Sebastian's parents who looked very pissed off.  
"Don't lie to us just to stand up for your overly violent sister. She needs to learn to control herself before my son gets seriously injured" Sebastian's mom says to my parents.  
"Violet wasn't lying! What Alice said is true!" Lily says, trying to help out.  
"And you! I know you are best friends but that doesn't mean its okay to lie for your parabatai!" Sebastian's father yells  
"We aren't lying!" Violet says.  
Sebastian's father turns to mine. "You need to learn to control your daughters! One of them is a liar and the other is violent child who is going to wind up getting someone killed!"  
I see a blur of motion that rushes right by his father's head. He gives a wild angry glare at Violet who threw the knife.  
"I am not a liar. My sister is not a child, nor is she violent. That little brat of yours over there is just too arrogant to accept defeat like a man. He did this to himself to make my sister look bad when in reality, he's just a baby throwing a temper tantrum." She says in a soft, deadly voice.  
Sebastian's father stares at her, mouth agape, unable to respond. His mother on the other hand was able to respond.  
"How dare you! How dare you disrespect my husband like that! Who taught you that it was okay to behave in such a way!" She turns to our parents, " My family is in danger due to your children! You need to see to it that they are severely punished!"  
"Now, now, Linette. I am sure that severe punishment is not necessary."  
"'Not necessary'? Your eldest daughter just shoved my son into the wall and cause the spears to fall on him! One of those could have stabbed him somewhere! Then your youngest daughter threw a knife at my husbands face! This isn't the first time either! A couple months ago Alice cut Sebastian's neck! He could have died! Though I will admit that this is the first time that Violet has acted this far out of place, Alice has been in this situation far too often!"  
I could tell by the look on my fathers face that he wouldn't be able to get me out of this one. I look at Violet who smiles at me apologetically. I smile back and turn to face the Verlac's. I take a deep breath, put on a neutral face, straighten my back, and do my best to appear as if I am unaffected my the situation.  
"Very well then Linette. What do you suppose the punishment should be?"  
She looks towards her husband who nods his head at her, giving her his support. She turns back to my father, looks him straight in the face and says, "I suggest that she leaves the institute."


	7. The New Chance

Elizabeth`s pov  
I woke up panting and gasping for air. For me unfortunately my nightmare was only to real. Pulling off my covers I walked over to my closet and changed into some training gear. Feeling the familiar knives in my sleeves i made my way to the training room. I sighed when I stepped through the doors as the room brought back memories of another time. Shaking my head to get rid of the memories I set up a human sized dummy and I flicked both of my wrists and started. Memories floated to the front of my mind again this time of a pair, one of the two teenagers dark and cynical refusing to let anyone in, the other with fine silver hair becoming friends with the other boy. Fighting off horrible automatons and the way they seemed to never die and finally the horrible day that I was cursed to live forever and remain alone for the rest of time. I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder and i reacted by flipping the person and holding one of my daggers to their neck in a way that if they made one wrong move they would bleed out in less than a minute."Elizabeth!" shouted the person and i snapped out of my memory induced state." Oh my goodness Hodge!'' I exclaimed before removing my knife and helping the man up." I`m so sorry!" "No I am the one who`s sorry I should know better than to sneak up on you." He said dusting himself off and gave me a critical look." Nightmares again?" "Yes unfortunately." I said looking at the dummy that I had torn to shreds. Nodding to Hodge as I left the room i made my way the institute kitchen. Once I arrived I opened the fridge and I took out what I need to make hot chocolate. After finishing I sat down on one the stools thinking about how I came to New York. I smiled as I remembered the day. The memory made me smile faintly because it was the first time I felt needed. I smiled as I washed my cup in the sink, when I first arrived at the institute Alec, Jace, and Isabelle were in the middle of doing something that apparently involved throwing knives at spinning wheel. At the time Isabelle was not the best shot but I could tell that she didn`t like to lose, I picked up a knife and tossed it and I smirked as it landed dead center, smiling as she cheered in joy. The smirk disappeared a second later as I reminded myself that I couldn`t get close unless I wanted her to die. All three of them had looked at me in amazement because their mother had explained to them that I was going to be another tutor for them but that I would mainly be teaching them about weapons and the more physical parts of being a shadow hunter. Through the years I started to care about them in my own way considering my circumstances. I smiled to myself once again before walking out of the kitchen and headed back to my room. As soon as I stepped back into my room more memories threatened to overwhelm me once again. Unfortunately before I could attempt to fall back asleep again I heard the three I had been thinking of arguing about something. I sighed before I got off my bed and opened the cabinet in my bathroom to get some sleeping pills that would hopefully allow me to fall asleep and not have any more nightmares of my past. The pills were fast acting and I could already feel tired. I walked back to my bedroom and this time I could feel myself start to drift off peacefully for once. I was thankful for that because now I hopefully would be able to fall asleep for once with out any nightmares. The nightmares had be plaguing me for almost a week and I knew why they were occurring now. However before I could fall asleep, the effects suddenly wore off and I knew what was going to happen next. I pulled myself up and propped my back against the headboard in preparation. The vision began as a pins and needles feeling behind my eyes but it quickly progressed to pounding like jackhammer. My sight of my room swam like I was under water and it felt like I was being submerged underwater. The room gave way to another scene. It was unlike any vision I had ever had before. I recognized Alec, Isabelle, and Jace but there were several other people that I didn`t recognize at all. To many snippets of scenery flashed in front of me but it was almost always the exact same people in all of them. The final vision left me confused because it I was there and I was smiling and laughing along with several other people. It scared me because I didn`t want those people those poor people to die. I sighed before I got up and I pulled one of my numerous sketch pads off of the book case full of them. This was one of my newer ones so I still had room to draw what I had just seen in case I wanted to see my vision again. I started sketching and within a few minutes over half of the sketch book was filled with drawings of those scenes. I flipped through the book to make sure that the drawings were up to my normal standard before stopping at the scene that showed me laughing at a tale with a group of people that judging by the picture I got along with. I shook my head at the odd scene dispelling any thoughts i had on it because I still needed to find Bane but that insufferable bloody twats voice mail said that he was in Tanzania and I was half tempted to go to that country to bring him back here with out him causing something to alert the normal world to the down-world. I sighed before I took out a pen from one of the drawers of my desk and wrote on the book spine the title for it before delicately placing it on my book case almost full of sketchbooks before I went back to my bed and I burrowed into the covers before falling asleep.


	8. Java Jones

Natalie's PoV  
I woke up to the sound of Demons by Imagine Dragons. I really can connect with that song. I groaned and rolled over to answer my phone. "City Morgue." I answer.  
"Hey Mother Shark," It's Simon, "Are you coming to Java Jones? Eric had a poem he's going to read." I groaned again. Eric's poems... how do I put this nicely...? Suck.  
"What time is it?"  
"12:00PM" My mother is at work and my dad is asleep.  
"Yeah I think I can."  
"Awesome. Clary and I will come and get you after I pick her up."  
"No, bad idea. My dad is asleep and he might wake up when you get here."  
"OK."  
"See ya child."  
"Yeah. See ya Mother Shark." with that I hung up and got dressed. I walked out of my room and wrote a note 'Out. Don't wait up.' Then I grabbed a Pop- Tart and walked out.

-time skip-

I walked into Java Jones and saw Simon and Clary sitting down on a couch. I waved to them. "Children! Your Mother Shark is here!" They waved and I walked over to them and sat down.  
"Hey Mother Shark." said Simon.  
"Hello Sharky." said Clary.  
"Woah! What happened to calling me Mother Shark?! What's wrong?!" She explained the stuff that happened with her biological mother and Luke. "Seriously?! Your biological mom and Luke are planning on taking you away?! I can't accept this!"  
"Well Mother Shark I have no control over this."  
"Nope! Nopeity nope nope! I can't accept this!"  
"I'm with Mother Shark on this one Clary. I don't want to see you go. You are my best friend and I can't imagine my life without you and I-"  
"On this one?! What is that supposed to mean?! Also, what am I, chopped liver?!" Simon gave me a look that said 'Seriously?! Why do you hate me Mother Shark?!' Suddenly I heard the worst noise known to man kind. Wait... never mind... Eric started his poem...  
"I'm gonna get coffee... It's too early for this kind of torture with out coffee. You two want anything?" They both told me what they wanted and I went up to order. Simon came up with me.  
"Mother Shark why did you interrupt me?"  
"Because you left me out of your little monologue, I was starting to feel like a third wheel."  
"Oh sorry about that. It's just..."  
"I know. I know. Clary and I are the only girls you know. Since I'm too much of a mother so it would be weird. That leaves Clary."  
"Ummm... yeah... you summed that up nicely Mother Shark."  
"I know." We waited for the coffee. I looked over at where Clary was and saw that she ran out. I flipped out. "I gotta go child. Take care!" I bolted out of the place leaving behind a confused Simon. I quickly picked up on her trail and followed her.  
She ran inot her apartment building and I followed not too far behind. When I burst in Clary was trying to fight... well... noting. I was confused. Suddenly she fell with a cry of pain and was bleeding. "Child!" I ran to her.  
"Natalie! B-behind you!" I looked behind me but nothing was there. Suddenly I was knocked back by a great force. Something was on me and I can't see it! I try to put up a struggle but I don't know what I am dealing with.  
"Natalie! Hit it!"  
"Where is it?!"  
"You can't see it?!"  
"Yes I can't! Would I be doing this if I could see it?!"  
"I'll tell you where to hit!"  
"OK."  
"Kick to your right! Three O'clock!" I do that and my foot hits something with a crunch.  
"Now where?"  
"To your-" I heard a sound at the door way. There was a boy with pale blonde hair and a weird black get up standing there. I looked back at Clary. She passed out. Blood loss maybe? That was the fist thing that came to me. I rushed over to stop the bleeding but I was hit from behind and blacked out.


	9. The Decision

Alice's POV  
"Leave the institute!" I yell in shock, "But I cant! This is my home! My family is here!"  
"You have family elsewhere. Some in Idris and if I am not mistaken you have cousins that are in the London institute." Linette says calmly.  
"That's true, but I cant just leave my father, mother, and sister! I have been helping Violet and Lily train!"  
"Yes and if you continue to be their teacher I fear that they may turn out like you."  
"I would be proud to turn out like her!" I hear Lily say.  
"As would I!" My sister says. "My sister Alice is an amazing person and incredibly smart and one the best Shadowhunters I know. She is much better than your son will ever be. I would rather leave the institute with her than be forced to train with your horrid son as my teacher."  
"Violet!" My mother yells in horror. "Why would you say such awful things?"  
"Well they are true." She tells mother.  
"Go to your room young lady. You have had enough of this excitement for one day. Go along. You too Lily. Both of you get cleaned up and ready for bed while we deal with Alice." Mother tells them both.  
"If Alice leaves, then I am leaving with her." She says before leaving the room and dragging Lily with her.  
My father sighs. "Well, now that they are off to bed-"  
"We feel it would be best for everyone if your daughter is sent to Idris to finish her training there under the instruction of someone who is better suited to handle troublemakers like her on a daily basis." Linette tells us.  
"Hey!" I yell, "You can insult me all you want, but don't you dare insult my family again! Don't forget that you taught me as well. I get equal training from all of you. If I am in fact a 'troublemaker' as you put it then you are to blame as well."  
"For the sake of getting this over with quicker can we please place a silent rune on her neck so that she wont interrupt us?" Sebastian's father asks.  
"Very well then." My mother says. I begin to argue, but before a word comes out of my mouth Sebastian has tackled me and started drawing the rune on my neck with his stele. When he finally hops off at me I try to yell at him, but no sound comes out.  
"There we go. That's more like it. Shall we continue?" He says.  
"Thank you son." His father says.  
"Alright, so you think that she should go to Idris until when?" My mother asks  
"Until she 18. At that point she will be mostly done with her training and she will be aloud to travel the world as she chooses." Linette says  
"And why couldn't she simply go to England and finish her training with the Ravenkeys?"  
"Because she needs strict and proper training. I suggest she stays with your relatives and trains with Delaney Scarsbury." Sebastian's father says.  
"Is that really necessary?" My father asks.  
"I believe it is." Linette says.  
"How about we send her to Idris and while she is there we will ask Delaney to watch over her very closely and if he thinks that she needs special attention or is overly violent or something of the sort then she will stay there and continue out the rest of her training under Delaney's wing and if she is deemed fit to return and train around others then she will come back here." My father suggests.  
Linette seems to study my father for a moment. Then her eyes shift and she seems to study me. Finally she turns back to my father and says,  
"Very well then. She must be there for at least 6 months."  
"Alright. It is settled then." My mother says. She turns to me. "We will send you tomorrow morning by portal. Go pack your things, say goodbye to Violet and Lily, and get a good nights rest. " As she turns to leave I hit the wall to get everyone's attention. When they look at me I point at the rune on my neck which is still keeping me silent.  
"It will fade eventually." Sebastian says with an evil smirk and then they all walk out of the room. I grab a dagger and cut a small line through the rune on my neck with it. As the rune breaks it stops working and I can talk again. I clench my fists in frustration and then look around the room. I grab my throwing knives and my special dagger. As I walk out of the training room the door slams shut on its own behind me. I turn around to see Sebastian standing there with a wicked grin on his face. I study him for what could possibly be the last time I will ever be able to. He is very good looking. He has dark hair that is always kept at an attractive length. His face is defined in just the right places. He is very muscular and holds himself very well. He would make an amazing husband for someone one day. If only he were a good person. I roll my eyes at him and start walking away and I hear him follow after me.  
"Looks like you fell down the rabbit hole a little too deep this time Alice. Wont be able to climb your way out now, will you?" He says, making a reference to a popular Mundane tale called _Alice In Wonderland_.  
"What do you want?" I ask him  
"Oh not much. Only to see that depressed look on your face when you get taken away from all that you love."  
"Not all that I love. I love my family yes, but the rest of this place is just a house. Mundanes move all the time. Besides, you actually did me a favor by sending me away like this."  
"Hows that?"  
I stop and turn to look at him. "I finally get to get rid of you and find a new training partner who might actually help me along in my training!" I say excitedly and then I turn around and continue walking. I get to my room and walk in. I start packing up my bags and Sebastian leans against the door frame.  
"Have you ever even been to Idris before?" He asks  
"No, but its just like any other place I might go and visit. I get there, I meet someone interesting whom I might come to know as a friend, and they show me around or I just explore on my own. Really the only thing you did was separate me from my family. Everything else that will come from this will either help me or not affect me."  
I can tell that is frustrated, but before I can say any more he walks out. I finish packing my stuff and then I walk to Violet and Lily's room. As I walk in I see them sitting on their beds talking. The second they see me they both fall silent.  
"We heard what happened." Violet says. "Are they really gonna send you away to Idris? Am I really not gonna see you for 6 months?"  
I smile sadly at her. "Yes. I will be gone for about 6 months, but no. I am not going to Idris."  
"Then where are you going?" Lily asks  
"Can you two keep a secret?"  
They both smile widely and shake their heads yes.  
"Alright. No body knows this, but I am going to England."  
"Why would you go there without anyone knowing?"  
"Because I don't want to go to Idris. I like England and I would prefer to go there so that is where I shall go."  
"So your going against the adults?" Lily asks  
"Yes I am. But you cant tell them where I have gone. Even after they realize I have fled. They must not know where I have gone. Okay?"  
"Alight!" They both agree.  
"When will you be leaving?" Violet asks.  
"Tonight. Once everyone is asleep. I will send a fire message to Ragnor Fell in a few minutes asking him to portal here and open a portal and get me London."  
"So that's it then. I wont be able to see you again for 6 months?"  
"I am afraid so, but don't worry. Someone new should be coming in to substitute as Sebastian's training partner and he or she can train you if necessary. I have to go. I will see you girls again after the 6 months is up alright?"  
"Okay." They say and then they wrap their arms around me in a tight hug. I shake both of them off and then I stand up and walk away. When I get to my room I send a quick fire message to Ragnor. Then I wait for everyone to fall asleep. After a few hours I finally grab my bags and walk outside to the back of the institute where Ragnor should be meeting me. When I get there I see him working on the portal, but I also see Lily and Violet standing there watching him work.  
"What are you two doing here!" I whisper-yell at them.  
"We came to see you off." Lily says happily.  
"You girls shouldn't be here. You should be asleep in beds right now."  
"Lily wanted us to go with you. She had already packed half of her stuff into a bag before I managed to convince her that it wasn't a good idea." Violet tells me.  
"Well thank you for doing that, but you really shouldn't be up this late. You have training in the morning."  
"Oh yeah..." Lily says.  
I hug them both tightly and then give them a small push back to the entrance to the institute.  
"Go to bed girls. Dont slack off while I am gone." I tell them and then turn back to Ragnor. "Thank you for coming on such short notice Ragnor."  
"Oh it's fine. I was about to go and visit Raphael in New York anyway. This shouldn't take away too much time from my trip."  
I laugh at him. "Is the portal ready?"  
"Yes it is. This should take your right to London."  
"Cool. Thanks again." I say and then I hug him. I back away and look at the portal. "Well. Here goes nothing." I say as I walk into the shimmering portal in front of me.


	10. The Next Day

Violets POV

Lily and I stood just outside the institute and watched as Alice left us for 6 months. I couldn't believe that they made her leave us. I looked over at Lily who was crying. As I wrapped my arms around her I said, "It's ok it's only 6 months and plus we can impress her when she comes back. Just imagine how good we will get."

"We wont get any better if Sebastian is our teacher. We need someone better." Lily stated in between sobs. I knew exactly what she was saying I'm already better than him and she is up to par with him. I don't know what we are going to do.

Knowing how tired she must be I suggest we go to our room. When we get there I notice how special it is. We have a bigger room than everyone else because we share it and we both also have separate rooms if we are sick or in trouble. My mom says the reason is that we need to be close because we are parabatai but from what I know no other parabatai share a room. Well its not time to think I need to get to sleep, we have to train.

\- next day-

I wake up to the sound of my mothers soothing voice. Lily and I sit up in bed still half asleep and regretting staying up as late as we did.  
"What time is it?" Lily asks in her morning voice.  
"It's six."  
"What kind of a monster wakes her children up at six!" I say, aggravated.  
"That is no way to speak to your mother! We woke up early to see your sister off."  
"Oh yeah... She's totally leaving today." Lily says stupidly. I shoot her a glare and she looks at the ground.  
"Yes. She is. Get dressed and come to the dining hall. I expect you there in 15 minutes."  
"But that wont be nearly enough time to put on my make-up!" Lily screeches dramatically. Well, she's definitely awake now.  
"We are shadow hunters." My mother scolds. "We do not wear make up!"  
"But I always wear make up!"  
"Downstairs. You now have 10 minutes."  
"But I wont have time to take a shower either!"  
"Would you like to make it five?" This silences Lily. "Good. Ten minutes." My mother walks out and slams the door behind her. I guess that she is also upset about Alice leaving.  
"Let's just get dressed. We can come back and put make up on once they are preoccupied with Alice's absence to notice. And please, avoid talking about Alice. I dont trust you with her secret. We dont need to get her into trouble earlier that necessary, plus if they found out that we knew and didnt tell them earlier we will get in trouble as well.

We enter the dining with 2 minutes left in our 10 minute deadline. Everyone, except for Alice, is seated around a feast of every breakfast food imaginable. It puts thanksgiving feasts in America to shame. While we wait for her to come down, which Lily and I know that she isnt, we talk about how we are going to see her off. The Verlacs seem much too happy about it and suggest throwing a party afterwards, complete with balloons and cake. My parents, being the sympathetic people that they are, wanted something much more somber. Lily and I stay quiet, which is uncharacteristic, but no one questions seeing as how upset we were when we initially found out. Finally my father gets impatient and tells Lily and I to go get Alice. Lily glances nervously at me and I glare at her, warning her with my eyes. I turn back to my father and look him in the eye.  
"Lily and I dont want to see her off. We feel it would be too painful." Right on que Lily's waterworks start up and she is bawling on the table. My mother and father seem rather alarmed.  
"It's okay darlings. You dont have to be there, besides we know that you said your goodbyes last night. Go upstairs and get a head start on your training for the day. Sebastian will bring you food after Alice is gone."  
"Yes ma'am." I say politely and hold Lily comfortingly to keep up the act. Once we are out of ear shot she stops crying and smiles proudly at me.  
"Did I do it right?"  
"Yes. That was perfect." She giggles and hops up and down.  
"Now I am glad that I didnt put on make up!" She says, making me laugh as we walk into the training room.


	11. London

Alice's POV  
I step through the portal and on the other side is the London Institute. It's as magnificent as I remember, though the other times I have seen it it's been more lively. I come here every year for the Christmas party. They are known for their Christmas parties. Arthur Blackthorn runs the institute. I've talked to him a couple times at the parties and he seems okay. The real reasons I decided to come here is that I love the city and I have become very good friends with William Goldhawk. I would much rather get to walk around the city with him every Christmas than get a bunch of useless presents. I wonder what his reaction will be to me showing up? Well. Let's find out. I take a deep breath and walk up to the grand front doors of the institute. Then I knock. I hold my breath as I wait for someone to answer and hope that it's William. If not then the chances of me being aloud to stay here are very slim. But, if he finds me first he can convince the others to let me stay, and they can convince my parents and the Verlacs. I am beginning to feel faint from lack of breathing when the door finally opens to reveal Will on the other side. I can immediately see the shock in his amber eyes and he appears to be too stunned to say anything.  
"Hey Will." I say, smiling.  
He smiles too. "By the angel. What the hell are you doing here? Mum and dad never said anything about you coming. Where's everyone else?"  
"Back in Paris. And me being here is kinda a long story. Could we talk somewhere private? And I would prefer if no one else knew I was here for now."  
He looks at me skeptically, but agrees. "Yeah, of course. I'll take you to my room. Mum and dad are out on a hunting trip and the king is asleep in his room."  
"The king?"  
"Arthur."  
"Oh, right. Thank you. For agreeing to help me."  
"I haven't agreed to help you with whatever it is that you are planning. I have agreed not to let everyone else know your here. For now."  
"Well hopefully you will help me with the rest too."  
"If it's anything like some of the other insane plans you've had, I might not." He says, but I can tell by the look in his eyes that he has already decided to help me.  
"What if it's fun?" I ask in a playful voice.  
He rolls his eyes. "All of your ideas are fun." He says as he opens the door to his room. I walk in and he closes the door. Once its closed I turn around and give him a playful smile.  
"And what if this one involves us training together?"  
He looks alarmed. "What are you talking about?"  
I take a deep breath and tell him the whole story. Starting with Sebastian and I training and ending with me being at the doorstep of the London Institute.  
"Okay, so let me get this straight." He says once I'm done. "You had a fight with Sebastian, so his parents kicked you out for six months to train in Idris, but you decided to run away before they could get you there, so now you are here hoping to train with me."  
"Yes."  
"Okay. I'm game, but what am I supposed to do? It sounds like you've already done everything."  
"Not quite. I still need your parents and Arthur to be okay with me staying here and then get them to convince my parents and the Verlacs to be okay with it."  
"And how am I supposed to accomplish that?"  
"I dont know. It's your parents. Tell them that I would be okay here, and I would behave and that, and that if I stay here you can finally have a training partner who is your age."  
"And what if I cant do it? What if I don't convince them? Then what?"  
I look at him sadly and know that I am going to regret the words that are about to come out of my mouth. "Then we tell them that we want to be parabatai."  
He looks shocked at first, but that quickly morphs to mimic the sadness that is in my own eye. "You're not serious. Are you?"  
"I don't know. At this point I don't know what would be worse. Going to Idris for six months without knowing anyone or staying here with you and becoming Parabatai." Its not that I don't want to spend that much time with him and be that close to him, the problem arises with the fact that parabatai cannot be romantically involved. Will and I have never officially dated, but we both know that we like each other in that way.  
"Okay. I'll convince them. Whatever it takes."  
"Thank you." I say and give him a hug. Right when we pull away I hear the front door open and footsteps walk into the institute. "That's them. Go get em tiger." I say and give him an encouraging push towards the door. He sighs and walks out. I follow him. He rounds the corner into the main room where his parents are before I do and I wait, hiding behind the corner. I shouldn't walk in right away. I should give them time to get situated.  
"William!" I hear his mother say in her beautiful, soothing voice.  
"Hello mum. How did the hunt go?"  
"It was fine. Not too many complications. Most of the Mundanes in the area were drunk so it was easy to convince them that they had imagined it all." His father tells him.  
"Good." Will says.  
"Oh Will! We got an interesting fire message a few moments ago about that Fairfox girl that you like." His mother says and I have to work hard not to laugh as I imagine the blush on his face.  
"Mum!" He says, embraced.  
"What? It's not like she's here. Anyway, we got a fire message from the Paris Institute saying that she got in some trouble and is being sent to Idris for some time. She most likely wont be at our next Christmas party, so it will probably be a while before you can see her again." Now seems like a good time to butt in. I walk around the corner and his parents see me right away. His mom gasps. "Alice? But you're supposed to be in Idris. What are you doing here?"  
"My so called 'fight' with Sebastian was just a misunderstanding. He was mad and trying to get me in trouble. His parents want to force me to go to Idris, but I don't want to. I would much rather come here for six months than go there, so I figured maybe there was a chance that I could convince you to let me stay."  
"I don't know." His father says. "Your parents and the Verlacs made their decision."  
"Then maybe you could change their minds." William says, helping me. "I trust her. I know that she will train long and hard and prove that she isn't prone to violence like they think she is. You guys could help her and watch her train, make sure she stays in check. Plus I would finally have a training partner. It couldn't hurt to let her stay here, would it?" I smile at him gratefully before turning towards his parents and waiting for their answer.  
They look at each other and then back at me. "We will consult with Arthur about it in the morning." Wills father says.  
"Thank you." I say  
"But we have to notify your parents first." His mother adds and my heart sinks.  
"Is there anyway that you could hold off doing that until you've talked it out with Arthur?" I ask.  
They look at each other again."Very well." His mother says. "But if they call us and ask if we have heard from you, we will not lie to them."  
"Of course. That is perfectly fine. Thank you so much."  
"No problem." His father says. "William. Find her a room to stay the night in."  
"Yes sir." He says politely before turning around and giving me a huge smile. He picks me up in a bear hug and we both laugh. "It worked!" He exclaims.  
"So far." I remind him when he puts me down. "We still have to convince the king."  
"Yeah, but he shouldn't be too hard to convince."  
"Then we have to convince my parents and the Verlacs."  
"The Verlacs will definitely be difficult, but I think we can do it."  
"Alright. Well let's worry about it tomorrow."  
"Sounds good to me." He says as he shows me to my room. He opens a door that is across the hall from his room and ushers me inside. "Here we are." I look around. It's a relatively plain room. Obviously no one has lived in here for a is one thing that this room seems to have a surplus of and that is books. They are scattered throughout the room.  
"It's like a library in here." I say and turn to look at Will who is smiling.  
"I thought you'd like it. The last person who lived in the room was very fond of books."  
"I can tell. What was their name?"  
"Tessa Gray. She lived here about 130 years ago. Stayed in this room for a while, before marrying William Herondale. The two of them ran the institute until he died. I'm not sure where she lives now."  
"You mean she's still alive?"  
"Yes. She's immortal."  
"Was she a Vampire, Warlock, or Faerie?"  
"None of the above. Though she was closest to being a Warlock. Her mother was a Shadowhunter who had been raised as a mundane and therefore bore no marks. Her father was a demon. She was something new. The only one of her kind."  
"Wow. How do you know all that?"  
"I did some research on this place."  
"Who was the last person to stay in your room?"  
"James Carstairs. He lived here at the same time as Tessa. I read something about them being engaged, but he was very sick and was forced to become a Silent Brother if he wanted to stay alive. They never got married. Instead she married his parabatai."  
"William Herondale."  
"Yes."  
"Well thank you for the history lesson, but I do believe that it is about time the two of us got some sleep."  
"Yes, probably"  
"My bag is in your room."  
"I'll go fetch it for you." He says before disappearing through the door. A few moments later he reappears with my bag in hand. "Here you are."  
"Thank you." I say, taking it from him. I kiss him on the cheek and then take a step back. "Goodnight Will."  
"Goodnight Alice."


End file.
